Bulletin, Record, Progressive, Reporter Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014 11B
EI
ars
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Two climate scientists
from the University of
Minnesota and Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution
have shown that the
California drought of 2012-14
has been the worst in 1,200
years.
Daniel Griffin, an
assistant professor in the
Department of Geography,
Environment and Society at
the University of Minnesota,
and Kevin Anchukaitis, an
assistant scientist at Woods
Hole Oceanographic
Institution, asked the
question, "How unusual is
the ongoing California
drought?" Watching the
severity of the California
drought intensify since last
autumn, they wondered how
it would eventually compare
to other extreme droughts
throughout the state's
history•
To answer those
questions, Griffin and
Anchukaitis collected new
tree-ring samples~ from blue
oak trees in southern and
central California.
"California's old blue oaks
are as close to nature's rain
gauges as we get," says
Griffin. "They thrive in
some of California's driest
environments." These trees
are particularly sensitive to
moisture changes and their
tree rings display moisture
fluctuation~ vividly.
Tree ring~ are a valuable
data source when tracking
historical climate; weather
and natural disaster trends.
Floods, fires, drought and
other elements that can
affect growing conditions
are reflected in the
development of tree rings,
and because each ring
represents one year the
samples collected from
centuries-old trees are a
virtual timeline that extend
beyond the historical record
in North America•
The study
As soon as the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration re,eased
.clim~/te"data f0~:gh~l~/~~
~.{Ji~: the two scientiStS :
sprang into action. Using
their blue oak data, they
reconstructed rainfall back
to the 13th century. They
also calculated the severity
of the drought by combining
NOAA's estimates of the
Palmer Drought Severity
Index, an index of soil
moisturevariability, with
the existing North American
Drought Atlas, a spatial
tree-ring-based
reconstruction of drought
developed by scientists at
Columbia University's
Lamont-Doherty Earth
Observatory.
These resources together
provided complementary
data on rainfall and soil
moisture over the past
millennium• Griffin and
Anchukaitis found that
while the current period of
low precipitation is not
unusual in California's
The 2012-14 California drought, unusual in the context of
greatly diminished water reserves in Lake Nacimiento of
by Daniel Griffin
history, these rainfall
deficits combined with
sustained record high
temperatures created the
current multiyear severe
water shortages. "While it is
precipitation that sets the
rhythm of California
drought, temperature
weighs in on the pitch," says
Anchukaitis.
Results~ .,, .................... those
,~,, ~We were genuinely
surprised at the result," says
Griffin, a NOAA Climate &
Global Change Fellow and
former Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institute
postdoctoral scholar. "This
is California -- drought
happens• Time and again,
the most common result in
tree-ring studies is that
drought episodes in the past
were more extreme than
those of more recent eras.
This time, however, the
result was different."
While there is good
evidence of past sustained,
multi-decadal droughts or
so-called "megadroughts" in
California, the authors say
past episode~:~,eE~ ~
probably punctuated by
occasional wet years, even if
the cumulative effect over
decades wa~ one of overall
drying. The current
short-term drought appears
to be worse than any
previous span of consecutive
years of drought
COMING SOON TO YOUR
TOWN HALL THEATRE
The Town Hall Theatre Says Farewell to Film!
With the digital installation scheduled for the first week of the new year the
Town Hall Theatre is entering its final days of screening films on their
two-projector change over system.
"The digital conversion is a bittersweet change," Valladao adds. "We may
still show movies on film, but they will be spooled on a single projector with an
intermission if we do. We are very excited for what the future will bring, but it is
also with sadness that ~ve will archive our vintage system."
HUNGER GAMES: MOCKING JAY, PART 1
plays Friday to Monday, December 26th to 29th.
Movie show times are Friday. to Sunday at 7pm
With a 4pm Matinee on Sunday.
The worldwide phenomenon of The Hunger Games continues to set the world on
fire with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, which finds Katniss Everdeen
(Jennifer Lawrence) in District 13 after she literally shatters the games
forever. Under the leadership of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and the advice
of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta (Josh
Hutcherson) and a nation moved by her courage. The all star cast also includes:
Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Jeffrey Wright, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 is directed by Fl'ancis Lawrence from a
screenplay by Danny Strong and Peter Craig. The novel on which the film is
based is the third in a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins that has over 65
million copies in print in the U.S. alone.
• This 123 minute Action, SciFi Adventure film is Rated: PG-13 for
sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic
material.
intense
The January 2nd to 5th movie will be the last that the Town Hall Theatre screens
in the old way, so management wanted todo something special to make those last
days an occasion to remember. "I had been trying to get a print of The Princess
Bride several times over the last couple of years and the dates never worked,"
explains Roxanne Valladao who books films for the theatre. "Having it all fall
into place for this final run of film made is seem all the more special. This way
we can all make our goodbyes as see one of the most fun films classic cult films
once again on the big screen."
Digital conversion and training is scheduled for Jan 6th to the 8th. If all goes as
planned the Town Hall Theatre will be screening their first digital film on January
9th or soon thereafter. Stayed tuned for coming attractions by becoming a Friend
of the Town Hall Theatre Facebook page or on the quincytownhall.com website.
TOUJX
L'I-o'- ................. il
|1 Students/Seni0rs .......... S7 I|
Children ' .. s6 ] !
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THEATRE
283-1140
469 Main St., Quincy, CA
Visit us at www.quincytownhall.com
the world's eighth largest were published recently in
economy and the source of a Geophysical Research
substantial amount of U.S. Letters in the article
agricultural produce. "How unusual is the
Surface water supply 20i2-2014 California
shortages here have impacts Drought?"
well beyond the state's
borders• The Woods Hole Oomnographic
With an exceptionally Institution is a private, nonprofit
wet winter, parts of organ/za tion on Cape Cod,
California might emerge Massachusetts, dedicated to
from the drought this year. marinerescarch, engineering
"But there isno doubt," and higher education.
cautions Anchukaitis, Established in 1930 on a
"that we are entering a new recommendation from the
era where human-wrought National Academy of Scienees,
changes to the climate its primary mission is to
system will become understand the ocean and its
important for determining interaction with the Earth as a
the severity of droughts whole, and to communicate a
and their consequences basic understanding of the
for coupled human ocean's role in the changing
and natural systems." global environment. For more
The results of the study information visit whoi.edu.
the last 1,200 years, results in
the upper Salinas Valley. Photo
without reprieve.
Implications
So what are the
implications? The research
indicates that natural
climate system variability is
compounded by
human-caused climate
change and that "hot"
droughts such as the current
one are likely to occur again
l
Wednesday, Dec 31 st
..o qu'o o o o .D
Prime Rib or
Shrimp Scampi Dinner
Call for Reservations &
Dinner/Theatre "1 DO! I DO!" Packages
The Restaurant ...
... somewhere in Quincy
in the futur,e.,,~gYffprnia..is ..... .~ ~,. ~. ........................
Quincy Elks
1 st Party:
New York New Year's Eve Dinner
& Celebration *25 per Person.
6:00pm - Hors d'oeuvres and Host Bar
7:00pm - Dinner of Prime Rib
or Cornish Game Hen.
9:0Opm - Celebrate New Year's Eve
(New York Time)
Champagne and Party Favors.
2nd Party:
FREE
Celebrate with "DJ Outlaw" for Dancing
and more celebrating.
9:00pm 2:00am - Doors Open to All
12:00pm - Champagne toast to celebrate
New Year's Eve (West Coast Time).
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